September 12, 2012

Menswear Wednesday: The Herringbone Jacket

With the almost drastic drop in temperature lately, I think it's safe to say fall is around the corner. I'm really sad to say goodbye to discussing seersucker suits and nantucket reds, but I know spring will be here before we know it. Until then, I'm bringing up an old trend that's new again-- The Herringbone Jacket. For my high school English teacher Mr. Wade Werner, the jacket was a staple, and every time I see a tweed blazer with a herringbone pattern, my mind instantly shoots back to English class and that man in the tweed blazer with the steel wool hair, going on about John Steinbeck, Sherwood Anderson and Earnest Hemingway as if he had no other purpose in the world but to teach the American classics.

He was a very influential teacher, and apparently, was ahead of his time when it came to the Herringbone blazers.

Herringbone refers to a v-shaped weaving pattern found in items made of wool or tweed cloth. It is named after the herring fish, because its pattern resembles the skeleton of that particular fish.

What I've found in my "fashion research" is that these jackets can be either super-pricey (ahem, Ralph Lauren) or completely affordable. I'm personally a fan of the lighter shades of grey, paired with a pair of dark wash jeans or khakis.